Conventional drive units, for instance, in motor vehicles, include an engine and a gear box, in a first operating state, the engine being operated using a first number of active cylinders and in a second operating state, the engine being operated using a second number of active cylinders, the first number being different from the second number. In so-called half engine operation, one-half of the cylinders are shut down by shutting down the intake and exhaust valves as well as the injection, which makes possible a saving of fuel as compared to normal full engine operation, in which all the cylinders are activated, and consequently none of the cylinders is shut down. Furthermore, in the case of a vehicle, the same expected torque is able to be set using various pairings of engine speed and engine torque, by using different gear speeds and gear ratios. It is generally more favorable for fuel usage to present a desired wheel torque using a gear that is as high as possible and a gear ratio that is as large as possible, that is, low engine speed and large engine torque, since the engine is then able to be operated in a more dethrottled manner, and the engine efficiency is higher. In vehicles having an automatic transmission, the gear selection and the selection of gear ratio are assumed by a transmission control unit.